


Don't Worry, Be Happy

by Ultra



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Fix-It of Sorts, Happy Ending, Hugs, Love, Marriage, Meta, Not Season/Series 04 Compliant, Post-Movie: Veronica Mars (2014), Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-17 18:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20625440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/pseuds/Ultra
Summary: Veronica wakes from a nightmare of what her life might've been and finds it's so much better in reality.(Set in the present day but Season 4 never happened).





	Don't Worry, Be Happy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [southrnbygrace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/southrnbygrace/gifts).

> For my wonderful friend, southrnbygrace, on the occasion of her birthday - I know you had no interest in the new season of Veronica Mars any more than I did given what we both know happened in it, so I wrote a happier ending for our favourite pairing, and kind of made fun of the new season at the same time. It made me happy to write it and I hope it makes you happy when you read it :)

Logan woke to a strange sound and an unnatural shaking feeling. He realised fast what was happening and turned over in bed to reach for Veronica and try to wake her. She had nightmares sometimes, they both had over the years, but this seemed different. It took four attempts of calling her name and trying to jostle her awake before she finally came to, with very real tears streaming down her face and pure terror in her eyes when she looked at him.

“Veronica, it’s okay,” he promised. “It was just a dream.”

It took a moment and a couple of good, deep breaths before she seemed to truly know where she was and accept it as reality. Then she was throwing her arms around Logan’s neck and holding on so tight he could barely breathe, but that was okay. If she needed him, he was there, just like always. It was what they did for each other.

“Oh God, I’m sorry,” she said, words muffled into his shoulder.

“It’s fine,” he assured her, rubbing her back. “I know how dreams can be.”

“It wasn’t a dream,” Veronica insisted, pulling back to look at him, though her hands remained clasped behind his neck yet. “It was the worst nightmare. I mean, I’ve had a few in my time, but this...”

She screwed her eyes tight shut a moment, an expression betraying terrible nausea crossing her face.

“Wanna talk about it?” Logan offered, sitting back against the headboard and practically pulling Veronica into his lap.

She let him do it, allowing herself just a little vulnerability that the rest of the world never saw. Only Logan was permitted to know she was ever this open, this hurt by what the world could do, or worse, what her own imagination could conjure while she slept. With all the trauma the two of them had been through in their lives, it was hardly surprising that the very worst of nightmare scenarios played out behind their eyes at night and could wound them so badly. Veronica and Logan both knew how easy it was for bad dreams to come true as well as the good ones.

“My life was just... it went so wrong,” she admitted, reliving pieces of the dream that had bothered her so much. “I drifted away from my friends, threw myself so deeply into my work. I was drinking too much, obsessing too much. There was... a bomber. A series of bombings all over Neptune and I just wouldn’t let it go, even when it got bad, so bad,” she said, voice cracking, another single tear leaking from her eye which she quickly swiped away. “We cracked the case, me and my dad, we caught the evil bastard, and then you and me... we got married,” she said, smiling very briefly at Logan since the expression crumbled seconds later. “Then you went out to move my car and... and I realised there was another bomb. I was blown back and you... Logan, it was so, so real,” she said, voice giving way on her even as tears overtook her one more time.

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” Logan reminded her, pulling Veronica in close, her head resting on his chest. “It’s not real. It was just a nightmare.”

“Nightmares can come true,” said Veronica softly. “We’ve lived through them, we know this. There’s plenty of bad and evil in the world, Logan, in _our_ world.”

“Yeah, but we always make it through,” he told her, kissing the top of her head, “and good things happen for us too. We earned our happy ending, Veronica, and we got it. You didn’t lose any more friends, there are no bombs, and I’m still here. The only truth in that dream you had was the one good part,” he told her with a smile, gently lifting her own left hand up in front of her face.

Veronica smiled too at the sight of her wedding band, the one that matched the ring Logan wore.

“Almost three years,” she said softly, entwining their fingers.

“And still rock solid,” he confirmed, leaning down to meet her kiss.

No sooner had their lips met than a noise made them pull apart. Resting his forehead against his wife’s own, Logan smiled.

“I’ll go,” he said, releasing his hold on Veronica who slipped back to her side of the bed.

She watched her husband leave the room then ran both hands over her face and back through her hair. Despite the comfort he brought her and the never-ending love that kept her feeling grounded and safe even in the worst of times, Veronica found she was still feeling shaky. Her nightmare had been so vivid, so intense. The pain of losing Logan like that, so suddenly and mindlessly, it was raw and real despite the fact her sleeping mind had made the whole thing up from nothing.

“Looks like you’re not the only one having trouble sleeping,” said Logan as he returned to the room, cradling their baby in his arms. “Lynly’s been seeing monsters too.”

“Aww, sweetie,” said Veronica, looking at her sad-faced daughter. “It’s not a good night for the Mars women.”

“Go on, honey,” said Logan, sitting down on the bed and handing Lynly over. “Give Mama a hug. She had a nasty dream too.”

Veronica wasn’t sure if she felt better or worse as she received the biggest hug a two-year old could manage to give her. She never thought she could love anyone as much as she loved Logan, but Lynly was amazing and inspired her heart to grow in size to accommodate the both of them.

“Monsters came,” the little girl whispered. “Wanted to eat me.”

“Well, you know what we say to mean old monsters that think they can get away with eating girls like us, don’t you?” she said, sitting her daughter in her lap and pushing her back from her face.

Lynly shook her head, sending her blonde curls flying.

“Sure you do,” Logan reminded her. “We say, ‘We are the Mars family and that makes us tougher than anybody else, even monsters’.”

“_Especially_ monsters,” Veronica amended with a smile. “Whatever form they come in. We’re tougher,” she promised, gesturing between the three of them. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Lynly nodded, reaching to try to hug both her parents at once and just barely managing it with her little arms.

When she was feeling better about her bad dream, Veronica took Lynly back to her room and tucked her in, reminding her that she never needed to be scared of bad dreams because they couldn’t hurt her.

“You don’t get scared, Mama?” the little girl asked innocently.

Veronica smiled. “A little, sometimes. It’s hard not to, but if it’s ever really bad and you need a little help to feel better, you just go to someone you love and they’ll be there for you. Your Daddy taught me that.”

Returning to her own room, Veronica climbed into bed with Logan and sighed.

“She okay?”

“She is. It’s just... I don’t know whether to be happy or sad she wasn’t in my dream,” Veronica admitted. “I mean, she should’ve been there, but with everything that was going on...”

“Veronica, come on,” Logan urged her, his hand at her cheek making her look at him. “It was just a bad dream. It’s not a life you wanted or didn’t want. It’s not anything, and it sure as hell wasn’t real. You’re not Buffy Summers or River Tam, so it wasn’t a prophecy or a secret plot. It was just a nightmare.”

Meeting his eyes and seeing all the genuine, never-ending feelings of love that he had for her right there, Veronica was overwhelmed in the best way.

“Did I mention that I love you?” she said, finding a smile. “Both of you,” she confirmed, her eyes flitting to the family photograph on the nightstand behind him.

“You did,” Logan promised, leaning in to kiss her lips, “and we love you too, more than anything else in the world. Veronica, I can’t promise that nothing bad will ever happen in our lives, but given everything we’ve already been through, I think it’s safe to say we’re probably due more good than bad right now.”

“Seems that way,” she said, nodding her agreement, shifting closer to kiss him this time.

Maybe it would’ve made more sense to just go back to sleep. They both had to get up early in the morning, Lynly would need attention, work demanded to be done, a million and one things that adult life involved. Reality could be a bitch sometimes and nightmares could be frightening, but Veronica and Logan had each other, and that very much felt like living the dream, especially when they were alone in their room like this. For a while they would know nothing but each other and the love they shared. That was stronger than anything, epic enough to conquer the world, and would undoubtedly last forever.

**Author's Note:**

> I named Veronica & Logan's daughter Lynly as a tribute to those they loved and have lost, namely his mother and her best friend - Lynn + Lily = Lynly :)


End file.
